A few weeks ago, Les brought home a book of puzzles called "sudoku." "Sudoku" is a shortened version of a Japanese phrase meaning "only single numbers allowed," and the puzzles are basically about trying to figure out how to place numbers on a grid. It's hard to explain it in writing, but if you click the link above you can see what the puzzles look like and understand the basic principles. The easy versions are simple enough for almost anyone to do, and if you like math or numbers (even though there is no addition or subtraction involved), you'll especially enjoy these puzzles, I think. I personally have found working on sudoku appealing as a stress-reliever at the end of the day since I have to spend so much time focusing on the numbers that I can't think about my supposed "problems."
Apparently, The Times of London has been printing these puzzles since late 2004, so I feel like I am coming late to the party, but if Les didn't bring this book home, I don't think I would have heard of sudoku even yet, so I think it's still fairly underground outside of major metropolitan areas.
So, for those of you who don't live in Tokyo, London, or New York City, and who want to be on the cutting edge of the latest puzzle fads (Anyone? I realize this has a pretty niche appeal...), start carrying around sudoku books and solve the puzzles during your breaks. If you really want to go crazy, use a pen instead of a pencil.
4 comments:
I've also become addicted to Sudoku, but only once I got a computer version to play with - it's so much easier to put in your pencil marks by right-clicking. It also gives you the option to play with colour patches instead of numbers, and I find, to my surprise, I can solve this version quicker. www.sudoku.com is where you can download a trial version. I paid to register a copy and it's well worth the few dollars it cost!
Thanks for the tip, Fiona, as well as the link. I'll check it out!
--Lisa
Yo Lisa and Les. it's Jane in A2. I hadn't heard of Sudoku until the last couple of weeks on vacation. but now it's one of the big September signs in the Borders store windows. check it out!
I still don't like these sudoku puzzles as I'm too dumb to solve them.
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